Nickel-uranium alloy.



UNITE STATES ATENT If".

ROBERTM. KEENEY AND LOUIS F. -VOGT, or WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA,

ASSIGNORS To STANDARD CHEMICAL COMPANY, or PITTSBURGH, PENN- Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

SYLVANIA.

' NICKEL-URANIUM ALLOY.

1,240,055; Specification of Letters Patent. No Drawing.w Application filed December 24, 1915. Serial No. 68,543.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT M. KEENEY and Lotus F. VoeT, citizens of the United States, and residents of Washington, in the county of Washington and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nickel-Uranium Alloys; and we do hereby declare the following to be. a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as, will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in alloys,the object of the invention being to produce a nickel-uranium alloy in which a relatively large proportion of uranium may be eflectually alloyed with the nickel.

With this and other objects in view, the invention consists in a combination of alloyed metals as hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims.

The materials which we employ in the manufacture of nickel-uranium are uranium, preferably in the form of uranium oxid, fluorspar as a slag-forming material; a carbonaceous reducing agent, preferably petroleum coke containing at least seventy per cent. fixed carbon, and nickel in a finely divided condition. All of these materials should be as free as possible from impurities, especially silica or silicon.

We mix the finely divided nickel with uranium oxid or sodium uranate. For example, in a 30 er cent. uranium product, we prefer to use the proportions approximately of 1 lb. of nickel to six-tenths of a pound of uranium oxid (U 0 At the same time we mix 'in carbonaceous material (petroleum coke for example) containing at least 70 per cent. of fixed carbon. To this mixture of nickel, uranium oxid, and carbon, we add fiuorspar in the proportions, approximately, of eight-tenths of a pound of fiuorspar to one pound of. nickel. The mixture thus formed is charged into an electric furnace at a rate dependent upon the size of the furnace and the grade of alloy being made, but in no case should the mixture be charged so fast as to cool the furnace to any great degree. Regular intervals of charging is a matter of considerable importance. In other words, a charge should be introduced into the furnace as soon as a previous charge has been reduced and melted. In the operat1on of the furnace, a portion of the charge .will collect on the wall of the furnace and affords a protection to the lining,the charge thus forming, in eifect, a lining in the furnace.

The reactions involved are those of simple carbon reduction, the reduced uranium alloying with the nickel to form a nickeLuranium alloy.

We have found that fiuorspar is the best .and probably only slag-forming material which may be successfully used to obtain a reasonable proportion of uranium in the alloy, and it should be used in considerable quantity, and be of a high grade so as to avoid impurities which would be detrimental to the alloy.

A typical charge for the production of nickel-uranium (the uranium oxid containing 68.8 uranium or 82 per cent. U 0 the coke 70 per cent. fixed carbon; the nickel (low in impurities) may be substantially as follows Finely divided nickel 10 lbs. Uranium oxid 7 5 lbs.

Coke 6 lbs. Fluorspar 8 lbs.

Of the uranium put into this charge, at

least 75 per cent. will be contained in the C 5. 12 per cent. S1 2. 68 per cent. Ni 63. per cent.

Having fully described'our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

1. A nickel-uranium alloy containing more than twenty-five per cent. uranium.

2. A nickeluranium alloy containing between twenty-five and thirty per cent, ura specification in the presence of two subnium and more than sixty per cent. nickel. scribing Witnesses. 1 3. An alloy consisting substantially of ROBERT M. KEENEY. nickel and uranium, the uranium content be- LOUIS F. VOGT. 5 ing approximately one-half as much as the Witnesses:

nickel. R. E. LAURENCE,

In testimony whereof, We have signed this A. D. RILEY. 

